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Email advertising or marketing is one of the most inexpensive yet effective ways to promote your products or services. If handled right, email marketing will bring you remarkable productivity.

The first thing to remember before executing your email marketing campaign is to come up with a well-thought-out plan of action. Unfortunately, many online marketers don't set aside enough time to develop effective strategies. Here are email advertising mistakes you should avoid.

1. Overkill your emails with graphics

Sure, graphics are attractive and add color to your email marketing efforts. However, too much graphics can overshadow your message, so much so that your content will be lost in the clutter of graphics, pictures and the like. Keep things simple and concise to win the attention of everyone in your email list.

2. Not getting permission from email recipients.

If you don't want to look like a spamming robot, always get permission from people before including them in your email list and sending your solo emails. Remember, spamming, which is against the law, is very annoying. The CAN-SPAM Act, which took effect on January 1st 2004, defines what spam is, specifies the requirements for commercial emailing and takes note of the corresponding penalties.

Too many marketers make the common mistake of buying an email list or unethically scouring the Web for email addresses. Avoid spamming altogether if you don't want to get into trouble.

3. Having no real content

Experience and common sense will tell you that seeing a whole page full of ads is boring and irritating. Send ads in your solo emails only and your readers will automatically hit the delete button without reading anything you said. Quality content is your best friend in email marketing. Add useful, relevant content as much as possible. Include industry news or informative tips.

4. You don't test out your email marketing strategies first

A good rule of thumb is to see if your content and subject lines are effective before sending out an email blast. You could be sending out hundreds of solo emails without knowing that you're doing it all wrong. You can usually tell how many of your emails have been opened.

Newsletters are often effective when testing out an email advertising strategy. Choose a small group of recipients to see if people actually open your email blast.

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Without a clear, straightforward call to action, nothing may ever happen to your email advertising efforts. So you've delivered your message across quite clearly, but where do the recipients go from there? If you want to attract customers with your email blast, include a link to your website, contact information and anything useful. Again, make it clear and simple, and don't clutter the solo emails with anything unnecessary.

6. Not including a landing page

Sometimes, after bumping into solo emails, consumers like to check out the website to see what it offers. They don't immediately jump in and buy something. Don't assume that readers head to the shopping cart right away upon reading your email blast. Consider the pages of your website that most people like to visit and browse. Look at Amazon's email marketing campaign, for instance. They provide these landing pages where people can view information and reviews on the service or product.

7. Subject lines and the "from" section are boring or poorly chosen

The "from" section and the subject line are the first things that email blast recipients usually check out when sifting through their inbox. Oftentimes, readers immediately delete solo emails if they don't know who the sender is. Make sure that the "from" line is the company or newsletter name that they signed up for. As for the subject line, the newsletter name will do.

Email marketing can work all the more with a clever and interesting yet brief headline.

8. Failing to correct errors

Too many solo emails contain a whopping amount of errors, from poor grammar to misspelled words to broken links. Even the slightest mishaps can turn off readers. They show a lack of seriousness and professionalism in your email advertising efforts. Such errors can be avoided by editing and proofreading. Remember, such mistakes can cost you lots of potential customers.

9. Making your readers go through so much trouble

If you want a lot of customers and subscribers, you should not make it too difficult for them to get updates about your service or product. If your email marketing campaign involves too many links or exhaustingly long forms, chances are they'll drop everything and click off before completing the registration.

10. Ignoring other forms of advertising

Combining email marketing with banner advertising can create a powerful effect, provided that you do it right. Look for banner ads that are relevant to whatever it is you're selling. Again, don't clutter your email blasts with unnecessary information.

You can never go wrong with effective email advertising strategies. So long as you follow proper business etiquette, your time, energy and efforts won't go to waste.